UT basketball: Kabongo announcement expected soon

AUSTIN – Texas sophomore point guard Myck Kabongo declined to say Thursday whether he’s decided to enter the NBA draft, but said he expects to make an announcement “sooner rather than later.”

A UT source said Kabongo could publicly reveal his intentions as early as Friday.

Speaking to reporters before the Longhorns’ season-ending basketball banquet, Kabongo said he’s been attending classes, but that he’d also requested a draft evaluation from the NBA, which underclassmen are allowed to do. The deadline to enter the draft is April 28.

After returning from a 23-game NCAA suspension to begin last season, Kabongo averaged 14.6 points, 5.5 assists and 5.0 rebounds in 11 games. The Longhorns, who missed the NCAA tournament for the first time in 15 years, went 6-5 with him in the lineup and 16-18 overall.

UT coach Rick Barnes said he wasn’t sure what Kabongo intended to do next, or if dealing with the suspension – which stemmed from accepting impermissible benefits on a trip to Cleveland – changed Kabongo’s thinking.

“Our whole feeling was, in his mind, he wanted this to be his last year,” Barnes said. “He might be decided. Who knows? He might have decided a long time ago.”

If Kabongo leaves, it would mean UT would be losing its top two scorers. Sophomore guard Sheldon McClellan, who averaged 13.8 points per game, announced last month he is transferring from the program. And sophomore guard Julien Lewis, the Longhorns’ third leading scorer at 10.8 points per game, was vague Thursday when asked to address rumors he might be headed elsewhere.

“I’m good right now,” Lewis said. “I’m fine in the situation where I’m at.”